Locker room amenities 101.

Yes, it is possible to find your way through a dizzying array of amenities and order the right products for the locker rooms at your club. But it takes knowledge of amenity categories as well as the factors that determine amenity choice for clubs in general.

Amenity Categories

Amenities fall into four general categories. The first is personal grooming or products such as hair spray/gel, shampoo, conditioner, combs, brushes, shave gel/foam, and razors.

The second category is personal hygiene, i.e. primarily odor prevention and skin care. Items here include body wash and hand soap, mouthwash, toothbrushes, cologne or after shave, perfume, deodorants and antiperspirant/deodorants, talc, or baby powder. Hand and body lotions and women's hygiene products are part of this category as are manicure supplies such as cotton balls, Q-tips, tweezers, and fingernail clippers.

Category three is made up of those amenities that are either pain relievers or pain preventatives. These are products like athlete's foot spray, Advil, Tylenol, aspirin, antacids, band-aides, tape, gauze, and creams or sprays to prevent infection or relieve muscle pain.

Finally, in the fourth category are those products that are applied for use out on the golf course. There are a host of these including sunscreen or suntan lotion, sprays or creams for sunburn relief, and insect repellent, to name a few.

Factors in Amenity Choices

One of the most significant factors in amenity choice is the status of a given club. Obviously there is a drastic difference between what amenities the members at a modest, rural semi-private golf club use and what is expected at an opulent, urban, high-end private country club.

At the former, the facility usually provides hand soap, hairspray, shampoo, combs, razors, and perhaps one brand of shaving cream. High-end private facilities usually display amenities in all four categories and then some, many of them going with private label products so that the club's logo can be proudly displayed. Many such facilities showcase these amenities in their locker rooms or bathrooms and/or provide them for sale in the club's gift or golf shop.

Another factor that will determine a club's choice of amenities is the age and expectations of its members. Clubs that are public, semi-private, or private, who have a significant membership in their 60s, 70s, or 80s, employ older brand name products, such as hair tonics for men and aerosol hairspray for women. On the other hand, for those clubs whose members' average age is mid-40s, modern brand names are a good choice. A mixture of ages might require a variety of both older and more contemporary products, and both may also go for a wholesaler's house brand or spa products with the club logo.

The final factor in determining what amenities to buy depends on the general or clubhouse services manager's preferences. For example, a country club may have used the same product for several years that meets the needs of the members and guests, some of which was refined by the membership and requested by the general manager. However, upon his or her retirement or transfer, a new general manager may step in, not care for the look, and prefer something completely different.

Amenity Dispensers

A number of choices are available in terms of how these amenities are dispensed. Modest public and semi-private clubs generally prefer hand soap dispensers that are attached to the wall, and whose levels can be easily monitored by locker room staff. Body wash and shampoo for showers may be dispensed in the form of 18 ounce bottles with pumps, and may be imprisoned in a clear plexi-plastic bottle holder that requires a screw driver to access, thereby preventing escape. Only a few combs may be used for grooming and be kept in a container of antiseptic liquid, and disposable razors may be kept in a tray or holder made for that purpose.

Members at moderate and higher-end clubs, as noted, prefer and expect more amenities, and therefore these clubs have a larger number of dispensers and holders that usually match the upgraded bathroom decor. Hand soaps on sinks--and body wash, shampoo, and conditioners in the showers--are usually dispensed from at least an 18 ounce pump bottle that may contain the club's logo. These dispensers are often housed in open or closed Corian holders that coordinate nicely with bathroom hues, with each product receiving an engraved label in the case of the latter. Clubs on both ends of the spectrum as well as those in between may place these products on the sinks or sink ledges and in showers with open or closed holders.

Attractive smoked or clear plastic holders with sections are often used to dispense smaller items in the third category, such as pain relievers, Q-tips, razors, combs, brushes, fingernail clippers, and tweezers at modest and high-end clubs. The most lavish facilities may opt for neither and allow an interior decorator to select custom-made, one-of-kind holders (metal or ceramic) that match the style and architecture of the locker rooms' wet areas. This can apply equally to bottles that dispense the products noted in categories one, three, and four.

Products in all four categories that are manufactured in cans or bottles may be name brand items, have a house label used by their vendor, or be a private spa quality product. Club loges may be used or management may simply decide on the same exclusive product label across the board. These items may be freestanding or in those types of holders noted above.

Finally, whether your club is public or private, amenities are an absolute necessity so that members and guests feel welcome, pampered, and will want to return to your club time and time again. Just what product is chosen and how they are dispensed depends on several factors, among them, the status and make up of the membership of your club. With this in mind, selection of amenities will not only be easier, but the chances of satisfying your most discriminating members will be much greater as well.

THE WARM AND SPACIOUS RESTROOM FACILITIES AT IRONWOOD GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB IN OMAHA, NE.

LAKESHORE ATHLETIC CLUB IN DENVER, CO.

Photo by Ed LaCasse Photography

FASHION SENSE

Older members will generally prefer the more established brand name products, while those in their mid-40s will be partial to modern, emerging brands.

WOMEN'S LOCKER AREA AT THE PLAYERS CLUB AT ST. JAMES PLANTATION IN SOUTHPORT, NC.

AMENITY CATEGORIES

1. Personal grooming.

2. Personal hygiene.

3. Pain relievers or preventatives.

4. Outdoor applications (i.e., suntan lotion).

MARKETING NOTE

Always consider stocking a wholesaler's brand emblazoned with the club's logo.

MEN'S LOCKER ROOM AT WILSHIRE COUNTRY CLUB IN LOS ANGELES, CA.

A SELECTION OF PERSONAL CARE ITEMS, THESE FROM READY CARE INDUSTRIES.

Todd Dufek is the president and founder of the Locker Room Managers Association (www.yourlrma. com) and is the manager of shoe and locker room services at The Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ. Todd owns and operates a consulting firm that provides seminars and on-site training in shoe care and locker room management, has authored two best-selling books on shoe and locker room services that have sold to 300+ clubs nationwide, and writes for numerous industry periodicals. He can be reached by e-mail at The Country Club at tdufek@ ccdcranch.com.